Effects of yogic practices and aquatic training on developing motor fitness in Indian male teens playing kho-kho.

Kho-Kho is one of the indigenous games of India. ‘The game Kho-Kho is based on natural principle of physical development. It is not merely running with speed but it's “CHASE”, a natural instinct to overtake, to pursue, to catch ‘a kill’. Yoga is about creating balance, strength, flexibility and relaxation in the body through a series of postures, movements and breathing patterns. Aquatic exercises not only improve the functions of the respiratory system and the circulatory system, they also help develop muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility, effectively affecting changes in human body composition. Hence this study was conducted to find out the “Effects of yogic practices and aquatic training on developing motor fitness in Indian male teens playing Kho-Kho”. Ninety Kho Kho players from Institute of Agriculture, Kumulur, Trichy district were selected as random subjects. The age of the players ranged from 17 to 19 years and were divided into three groups. Group-I underwent Yogic training, Group-II underwent Aquatic training and Group III-control group (No training). The training period was 12 weeks. Group I underwent different basic Asanas and group two underwent water aerobics for an hour a day for the period of training along with routine Kho-Kho playing. Performance related motor fitness variables such as Speed, Agility, Flexibility was observed among the subjects. As a result of the study, Speed of the subjects has greater improvement due to aquatic training than the yogic practices. The smaller gain noticed on speed due to yogic practice group. Agility has greater improvement among Group II (aquatic training group) than Group I (yogic practices group).